From Humble Beginnings
by LyriaFrost
Summary: A story of the beginnings of the Autobot warrior Bluestreak. Part 1.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing... if I had then Prowl wouldn't have died in the original movie and Jazz wouldn't have died in the new ones... and the Twins would still be Sunstreaker and Sideswipe...

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><p>The royal castle of Praxus was a wondrous place to grow up. Everything shone and glittered in the loveliest way. It was like a fairy tale castle with delicate molding, gilded walls, and priceless artifacts that only served to make the setting more surreal. It was now the middle of the night and to the little ten-vorn-old sparkling running around the castle, everything was gigantic and more than a bit scary, especially when he was alone like right now. He was lost in the castle again, something that was altogether too easy for him.<p>

After what felt like hours of running, he was so exhausted that he simply had to sit. But when he sat he was overcome with fear because he was afraid that no one would find him, which of course would be impossible, but all logic had fled his scared and tired little mind. So he simply sat there and cried, hoping beyond hope that someone would come and find him. He had had another vicious nightmare, a premonition though he did not yet know it. He dreamed of evil red-eyed monsters destroying his home, setting everything on fire, and killing everyone. He dreamed of seeing his friends and family lying about, their optics devoid of light and sparks forever dead. He dreamed of being the only survivor and being left alone in a dark castle full of dead bodies.

"Blue? What's wrong baby?" Bluestreak immediately recognized the voice and looked up to see his oldest brother, Blackside, standing in front of him. His brother immediately reached down to pick up Bluestreak when he noticed the tear tracks running down his face. Bluestreak immediately cuddled up to his chest, always feeling safe when his brother was around. The 21-vorn-old just held him closer and made comforting noises into his audio receptors until the younger mech had calmed down enough to speak.

"What's wrong with Sprout?" Their other brothers then suddenly appeared flanking them. The twins, Stormrunner and Sunburst, were notorious for being able to sneak up on anyone, even those who knew them well.

"He had another nightmare." Blackside glanced up at the 18-vorn-old twins.

"It… It was horrible!" Bluestreak told his brothers all about what was in his dream. They comforted him until he was calm again then Blackside carried him back to their adjoining quarters. All four of the brothers had bedrooms that opened onto one common room, though Stormrunner and Sunburst usually shared one or the others room. On nights when Bluestreak had a nightmare, they usually all ended up sprawled on Blackside's bed, with Bluestreak tucked securely in the middle. It was no different on this night.

"What did you dream this time Sprout?" Stormrunner stopped wrestling with Sunburst long enough to ask the question on everyone's mind.

"It wasn't a dream Stormy. It was a nightmare! I saw these big horrible monsters with glowing red eyes and they were attacking the castle and there were dead mechs and femmes everywhere. I was running around but everywhere there were dead bodies and I looked at the faces and they were all people I knew. I saw the guards, the maids, the cooks, my teachers, and my friends. But the worst part was I saw Mommy and Daddy in the throne room and they weren't dead yet but then the biggest monster came in and I had to watch and I couldn't find you anywhere and it was so scary!" The last part was said in a near wail as Bluestreak remembered the vivid images he had seen in his sleep. Blackside pulled him in close to his chest and just held him, comforting the sparkling.

"Its okay Blue. We're all here with you and Mommy and Daddy are sleeping in their room safe and sound. The guards are watching over us and besides, why would the monsters attack us? We have nothing they want. Our city is full of beautiful crystal gardens. Besides, we'll protect you baby."

"Of course." "You bet." Came the simultaneous cries from the twins who were still fighting for the best spot on the bed. It was a routine they went through every time this happened. Bluestreak started giggling at the twin's antics and soon enough fell asleep. The memory of his nightmare had been pushed away in favor of watching his brothers. However, Blackside clearly remembered every detail and resolved to speak to his parents in the morning. He turned the remaining lights off, as Stormrunner and Sunburst finally finished their brawl and claimed their spots on the bed. Soon enough, the room was filled with the sounds of soft breathing and occasional snores, quickly silenced by a hand, foot, or pillow.

When their parents, Queen Silvershimmer and King Stormlight, came in to see why their sons had not shown up at the breakfast table, they were hard pressed not to burst out laughing at the sight before them. Bluestreak was happily curled up in the center of the bed, securely wrapped in Blackside's arms. Stormrunner and Sunburst were lying across the end of the bed, though Stormrunner looked about to fall off. Sure enough, one twitch of Sunburst's foot sent his twin off the end, abruptly waking the poor mech.

"Fragging glitch-head." Came the moan from the floor. Stormrunner got up and smacked his twin on the helm. "You woke me up so there's no point in letting you sleep." Sunburst just grumbled and closed his optics again. "Oh no you don't. Its time to get up now."

"Five more minutes Stormy." Stormrunner gave up with a soft growl and flopped dramatically against the end of the bed. His efforts did wake up the other two occupants of the bed who blinked about sleepily for a moment until the last remnants of sleep faded away. Bluestreak was the first to notice his parents standing in the doorway.

"Mommy! Daddy!" he quickly hopped off the bed and ran to where his mother was crouched with open arms. He jumped into her embrace and she lifted him onto her hip.

"And how is my big sparkling doing this morning?"

"I had another nightmare last night but 'Side, Stormy, and Sunny made it all better." All three of the brothers groaned good-naturedly at the childish nicknames Bluestreak had stuck them with but dutifully rose to kiss their mother and exchange good-mornings. Stormlight sent a look to his first-born, who simply shook his head, mouthing "_later"_.

"Well boys, breakfast was served quite some time ago but if you hurry Cook might have kept it warm for you." This sent Stormrunner and Sunburst barreling out into the halls, heading for the private dining hall. "Stormrunner! Sunburst! Take Bluestreak with you and wash him up first."

"Yes mom." "Sure thing."

Blackside stayed behind, walking at a much more leisurely pace with his parents.

"So what's all this about a nightmare son?" Stormlight got right down to business, now that Bluestreak was occupied.

"He dreamed that red-eyed monsters attacked the city and killed everyone. I told him they would never come here because we have nothing they want but I'm not so sure. Blue's dreams have often turned out to be real more often than I like and we do have rather large un-mined stores of power crystals in the city, carved to look like gardens."

"Yes, well I suppose we should set up some more guards but if Bluestreak's description is accurate, his 'monsters' may very well be those Decepticons that are trying to take over Cybertron. If it is, then no number of guards will be able to stop them. Even the Autobots are having problems, already they have had to retreat from a number of outlying cities and fortresses. This may be one nightmare we cannot wake up from."

"Perhaps we can come to some sort of agreement with them? Surely we can give them the power crystals if that is the way to save the lives of all our people?" Just then, the three arrived at the doors to the dining hall and they could here the sounds of Blue and the twins inside.

"Well lets put this out of our minds for now and enjoy a nice breakfast." Silvershimmer led the way into the room, planting a kiss on a protesting Bluestreak before moving to her seat at the foot of table. Stormlight headed to the head with Blackside sitting directly to his right and Bluestreak next to him. Stormrunner and Sunburst sat on the other side of the table. The rest of the meal was spent happily, exchanging jokes and teasing insults.

Afterwards, Silvershimmer and Stormlight headed off to the throne room to take council about Bluestreak's prophetic dreams. Blackside delivered Bluestreak to his tutor, then dragged the protesting twins to their teacher before heading off to his own lessons. The rest of the morning was spent in the classrooms, with a small break for lunch. The four were then required to come to the throne room to observe the functioning of the kingdom they would one day help rule.

A few hours there was a commotion in the outer receiving hall and the guards escorted in a severely injured mech. He was covered in burns, cuts, and gashes. A trail of energon drips followed him down the long hall to stand in front of the thrones.

"My lords, the report from the outer wall."

"Proceed Captain Highside." Highside was the Captain of the Palace Guards, in charge of all defensive measures of the city. He was an old friend of King Stormlight; they had attended the military academy together that was mandatory for all Praxian males.

"The full Decepticon force is at our gates, led by Lord Megatron himself. Already they have breached the outer walls and were well on their way to getting through the inner defenses when I left. There are none here who can stand up to their power. I have come to evacuate you from the palace. Now we must hurry, there is little time left."

"No Highside, I refuse to leave when my people have no escape. I will stay and try to reason with the Decepticons. Perhaps they will just take our crystals and leave our people alone."

"My lord! You cannot stay it is not safe here! The Decepticons will be upon us at any moment." Just then the sounds of gunshots and the screams of terrified mechs and femmes could be heard from outside the palace doors. Stormlight turned to his family.

"Silvershimmer, take Bluestreak and hide. If this doesn't work, I don't want you anywhere near here."

"No Stormlight, I refuse to leave your side. As your Queen and your wife it is my duty to stay at your side through thick and thin, for better or worse."

"Silvershimmer… please…"

"Now my Bluestreak go run and hide. Be good and stay safe. I love you so very much. We will come find you when all of this is over." With that, Silvershimmer lifted Bluestreak into her arms and gave him one last hug and kiss before placing him on the floor and giving him a push towards the side door. "Now go, hurry, and don't look back." Thumps could now be heard against the heavy oak doors. Blackside, Stormrunner, and Sunburst ran to help the guards hold the door shut.

Bluestreak ran through the doors but could not bring himself to leave. He quietly crept up into the secret room that he and his brothers had discovered. It wasn't even a proper room, just a small crawl space between two walls. They had made a small hole in the one wall so that they could watch what was going on in the throne room. From there, Bluestreak watched the following events unfold.


	2. Chapter 2

**~From Humble Beginnings~**

_A Story of the Turbulent Beginnings of the Great Warrior, Bluestreak_

Chapter 2

"My lord do you really think this is wise? The people need you safe somewhere so you can help after the battle."

"Help who after the battle Highside? We have heard all the reports from other cities that have fallen. There are never any survivors. Once the Decepticons set their sights on a city, it will fall and all its inhabitants will die. No Highside, it is wiser that I stay here. It is better that I fall with my city and my people than I live with the knowledge that I left my people to die."

"Very well my lord."

"Please Highside, its just Stormlight now. There is no need for formal titles among friends as good as you and I."

"Indeed my lo… Stormlight. What do you plan to do now?"

"I will wait for the Decepticons and I will see if they will listen to rational discussion. Better lose our beautiful crystals than lose our lives." Just then, the oak doors burst open and the Decepticons swarmed in and attacked the guards scattered about the room. Suddenly, the attack ceased and the Decepticon hoards drew to the sides of the room, leaving an aisle up which strode Lord Megatron with Starscream and Soundwave at his flanks. He came to a stop before the thrones and bowed a low mocking bow.

"Ah King Stormlight and the lovely Queen Silvershimmer. You must tell me, what is it like to be the rulers of a dying city?"

"Lord Megatron, why do you attack a city of peaceful neutrals? We have no quarrel with anyone involved with this war. If the power crystals are what you seek than take them and leave. But leave our people alone." Megatron paused and considered the request.

"No I don't believe I will. You see I am after the crystals but these attacks are also good for morale. My soldiers feed off the fear and the killing and when next I order them to a city they will attack even more viciously. Besides, so much of the city has already been destroyed; the palace is the last place with any life signatures remaining." At this, Queen Silvershimmer gasped and brought her hand to her mouth.

"Yes my queen, it is far too late for everyone else and soon it will be too late for you as well!" Bluestreak could only watch in horror as Soundwave shot at Stormlight, only to hit Highside instead when he jumped in from of the gun. Stormlight staggered back as his dearest friend was thrown against him by the force of the shot. He lowered them both to the ground and cradled his friend in his arms, whispering words Bluestreak could not hear, now lost forever as the light faded from Highside's optics. Stormlight simply sat there for a moment, holding the rapidly cooling body while his sparkmate looked on in horror, before quietly rising and facing the Decepticons. Bluestreak caught a glimpse of his father's optics and knew that he was already dead inside.

The next moment, all hell broke loose as the Decepticons, in their furious battle lust, shot everything in the room including each other occasionally. When the smoke and dust cleared, there was not a living creature left that was not Decepticon. Bluestreak could only watch as the bodies of Praxians and Decepticons alike were throne in a heap, with the bodies of Stormlight and Silvershimmer on top, then the entire pile was set ablaze. The flames licked eagerly at the spilled oil and energon that coated the bodies. Lord Megatron stood there for a moment, his expression made even demonic by the light of the fire, and then he turned as a Decepticon soldier approached.

"My lord, the Autobots are nearing our position."

"Very well, how goes the crystal collection?"

"We only have one garden left sir."

"Good. Decepticons, prepare to leave, let the Autobots find this a city of the dead." With that, all the Decepticons left the room, leaving behind a mess of rumble, a smoldering pile of body parts, and one terrified little sparkling.


	3. Chapter 3

**~From Humble Beginnings~**

_A Story of the Turbulent Beginnings of the Great Warrior, Bluestreak_

Chapter 3

"Optimus, sir."

"Yes Prowl?"

"Our sensors have picked up a large mass of Decepticons."

"Where are they?"

"They appear to be launching a full scale attack on Praxus."

"Praxus… isn't that the home of the Helix Crystal Gardens?"

"Yes sir."

"If the Decepticons get their hands on that many raw power crystals, they will have enough energy to work their way here to Iacon." Optimus rose from behind his desk, a tall imposing figure that intimidated even second-in-command Prowl at times like this. "Assemble the forces Prowl. I want as many mechs as possible. We need to stop those Decepticons."

"Right away sir." Prowl opened his base-wide transmission channel.

: All available personnel please report to meeting room C. The Decepticons are launching a full-scale attack on the city Praxus and we must launch a counterattack. : Jazz was in the rec room enjoying a cube of high-grade when the call came through. He knew the Praxus had been Prowl's home before he had joined the Autobots and he could feel Prowl's distress through their bond so he sent a message through the link. _~You okay Prowler?~_

_~I don't know Jazz.~_

_~Don't worry Prowl, maybe we can get there in time.~_

_~You know as well as I do Jazz that once we hear about an attack it is already too late.~_ Jazz could feel the sadness and anger this thought invoked in his bondmate.

_~Prowler…~_

_~It's okay Jazz. We knew it would happen eventually. We're lucky they went this long untouched.~_ By this time, Jazz had made it to the meeting room and taken his place next to Prowl as third in command. Jazz shot a look at the other black and white mech but refrained from further commentary. He knew that although Prowl was very open with him, there were certain private issues he had to sort through himself. If needed, Prowl would come to talk to him later. For now they needed to focus on the mission.

Optimus briefed all the soldiers on what had happened, organized their ranks, and led them all off. No one knew what they would find when they got there. But nobody expected what they actually found. There was no building left untouched, most were completely knocked down. Everywhere there were dead bodies, most shot and mutilated beyond recognition. There were piles of the visible remains of mechs, femmes, and sparklings that had been drenched in their own oil and lit on fire. Some were still sparking and smoldering. But nowhere was anything moving. There was not a single living thing anywhere. Even the wind was completely still.

Eventually, the mechs reached the middle the city, the location of the Helix Gardens and the Crystal Palace. They had scoured the entire city and there had still been no signs of life; the piles of smoldering bodies were interfering with the heat sensors making it hard to search. Optimus gave the order for a personnel search and each mech found his partner and took a separate search quadrant. Prowl and Jazz were assigned to the palace since Prowl had been a guard there in his younger days and knew many of the secret passages where survivors might be hiding.

Their search seemed to be in vain for the only room left was a small storage chamber off the throne room and they had found no one yet. The carnage in the throne room had been horrible; obviously a great massacre had taken place there as the bodies of many Praxians were piled into a heap. Lying on top, their bodies charred but still recognizable was the King and Queen of Praxus.

Prowl was overwhelmed by sadness because these two kind mechs had taken him in when his father had been killed in battle. Prowl's mother had died trying to give his spark life when he was created so he never really knew her. But Stormlight and Silvershimmer had been like second parents to him and their oldest son, Blackside, who was the same age as Prowl, had become his best friend. Unfortunately they had fallen out of touch after Prowl left to help the Autobots.

Prowl and Jazz entered the small chamber and searched it thoroughly, finding nothing for their troubles. But just as they were about to leave, they heard a small sniffle. It was so quiet they believed that they had imagined it. They continued to hear it yet could not pinpoint its source.

Just then, Prowl noticed a tiny crack in a wall, so small that it seemed to be nonexistent. But when he presses on the crack a small doorway opened and Prowl and Jazz found themselves in a crawlspace between the storage chamber and the throne room. Prowl found that his doorwings were too wide to fit and was forced to bend them uncomfortably inwards so he would fit.

As their optics adjusted to the low light levels, they picked out the tiny form of a sparkling huddled in the far corner of the hall. He stared back at them with large optics, trying to muffle his sobs, hoping that he would not be found. Jazz took a step closer but froze when the little one tried to move farther back against the wall.

"Hello there little one, my name is Jazz. Who are you?" Jazz purposefully kept his voice low and soothing, trying to calm the sparkling down. All he received was another quiet sob and an attempt to squish even farther into the wall.

"Here Jazz, let me try." Jazz backed up and Prowl squeezed up, crouching down in front of the sparkling. "Hey there. I'm Prowl. We're here to help you. Can you come out of there so I can look at you?" Something about Prowl's voice must have been soothing because the sparkling cautiously crept forward a little more. His tiny voice piped up.

"Where are my mommy and daddy and brothers?" His tiny little lisp made Prowl's heart break all over again.

"I don't know little one. Come here and we'll see if we can find them." Prowl knew there was very little chance that his family was still alive, considering the state of the city but he didn't want to upset the sparkling anymore. "What's your name?"

"Blue… Bluestreak."

"Well Bluestreak why don't you come to me and we'll go outside." It seemed that the little one was finally starting to trust the Autobots somewhat because he crawled forward and allowed Prowl to gently lift him up. Jazz turned and preceded Prowl out of the palace, keeping an eye out for any stray Decepticons. They made their way back to the established mini-base where Optimus was coordinating the search and Ratchet awaited any survivors. Jazz entered the temporary medbay, searching for the red and white medic.

"Hey Ratch' we found one!" Ratchet appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Where Jazz? What kind of damage?"

"Prowl is bringing him now. He doesn't seem injured but we want to check to be sure." Just then Prowl entered with the sparkling still cradled in his arms.

"Primus… it's just a little sparkling!" Ratchet looked shocked to see the little one. No one had expected any survivors let alone a youngling. "Where did you find this one?"

"He was hiding in a secret passage behind the throne room in the palace. He says his designation is Bluestreak." Jazz was suddenly struck by a thought.

"Prowl, I think that's the name o' the youngest prince. I remember a news feed from a while back about the newest prince of Praxus."

"That would explain why we found him hiding in the palace. But that doesn't change the fact that he is the only survivor and we have to decide what to do with him."

"Well, we'll have time to think about that later Prowl, give him to me so I can check him over." But when Prowl tried to hand Bluestreak to Ratchet, he began to cry and clung desperately to Prowl. He would calm down but get upset every time they tried to pass him over. Eventually, Ratchet just brought over a portable scanner and confirmed Jazz's belief that he was unharmed.

"I need to do a more thorough inspection later but he seems fine Prowl, Jazz. All he needs is a little love and care." Soon after, the Autobots regrouped and prepared to head back to Iacon. Many mechs were saddened that day by the loss of so many innocents lives. The people of Praxus had been entirely neutral – those that were not, like Prowl, had left so as to not draw any attention to the peaceful city.

But through all the darkness that seemed so prevalent, there was one small light. Though it was only one survivor, many were gladdened that a young sparkling could have been saved. That one life had been well worth the many long orns of searching they had put into the ruins.


End file.
